Garcetti Discusses Los Angeles' Preparedness For A Terror Attack
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti held a news conference Friday in Elysian Park amid the recent terror threats facing the community after a large contigent of SWAT team members and police personel took part in a terrorist attack drill.
"We want the public to know that we are on top of everything," Garcetti said.
"We hope for the best, but we are preparing for the worst," he added.
The half-day training exercise simulated terror incidents occurring simultaneously throughout the city, mimicking recent attacks in Paris.
"In this new world, it may not just be one shooting incident in one place, but multiple incidents in multiple places simultaneously," Garcetti said.
"I'm very proud of the response today," he added.
LAPD Chief Charlie Beck was also in attendance, and spoke the media after the drills as well.
"It's very, very true that you play like you practice, and today, we brought about 400 law enforcement and fire professionals to practice for a day that we hope never comes," Beck said.
"Unfortunately, none of us believe that it will never come, all of us are constantly in fear and preparation for the day that we have to protect this city against multiple attacks," he added.
It was made clear that the LAPD and law enforcement have done these drills before, but now they have increased accessibility to the public and media to get a better insight of what they are actually doing in preparation of an attack.
The next drill they are planning could be downtown and could involve a high-rise building.
